


i have a sweet tooth for you (i'm wide awake)

by CrackFicCentral (Set2Free)



Category: Sesame Street (TV)
Genre: Feelings Realization, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, M/M, Started as a crack fic, anyway super cute, then i started to actually take myself serious, whoops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:27:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25949599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Set2Free/pseuds/CrackFicCentral
Summary: After a conversation with Ernie, Bert begins to decipher their relationship and realizes what Ernie really means to him---I wrote this as a joke at first but then it turned into something kind of cute
Relationships: Bert/Ernie (Sesame Street)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 75





	i have a sweet tooth for you (i'm wide awake)

**Author's Note:**

> Amber.... this is your fault.
> 
> In all seriousness I actually had way more fun writing this than I thought. Not beta'd so if you see any mistakes let me know!! 
> 
> Title is from Sweet Tooth by cavetown.

The quiet atmosphere of their humble apartment was unusual to say the least. Bert was sitting in his favorite chair with today’s newspaper, excited to finally bask in a comfortable silence while Ernie was at the store. 

The two had gotten into a small argument. Well, it wasn’t an argument as much as it was Bert was tired of Ernie’s incessant blathering. Ernie, ever the saint, decided he’d give Bert some time to himself and also maybe pick up some milk while he was out. 

At first, it was really nice. There were no grating questions about the mysteries of the universe, no squeaking of Ernie’s favorite rubber duck, and especially no chatter about the nature of their relationship. 

That line of questioning seemed to occur more and more often lately, and frankly it annoyed Bert far too much for Ernie to keep bringing it up. In fact, it was those very questions that resulted in the aforementioned argument. 

Bert sighed, sinking deeper into his chair after taking a sip of the warm earl gray tea he had brewed, just for this occasion. The newspaper wasn’t particularly interesting, but it occupied Bert’s brain enough to where he had nearly forgotten about the Ernie situation. 

It wasn’t five minutes later that he began to feel a bit chilly.

“Ernie!” Bert called out absentmindedly, taking another small drink of his tea. “Could you grab me the blanket from…” he began to trail off.

Oh. That’s right. Ernie isn’t home right now. _I guess he isn’t completely useless._ Bert thought to himself with a weary sigh.

No matter, Bert could fetch his own blanket. 

As he made his way to their shared bedroom, Bert’s eye caught on a familiar sweater that lay across his bedsheets. Bert let out a huff, grumbling under his breath about how Ernie needed to clean up after himself as he moved to grab the sweater. 

Ernie had, of course, changed into warmer clothes before venturing out and to the store. As Bert gathered the clothing item, he also noticed that his own special blanket was strewn across Ernie’s covers. His mouth twisted in contemplation. 

Slowly, Bert’s gaze drifted around the small sleeping area that they shared. It was as though he was seeing the room through completely new eyes. In every corner of the room, their things seemed to overlap and mesh together. Their once separate and organized closet space now had a combination of different colored clothing worn by both boys.

As he took in the state of their room, Bert came to a somewhat startling conclusion.

There was no one thing that belonged to Ernie or Bert, as all aspects of their life seemed to now be shared between them.

_Him and Ernie, they were living less like best friends and more like… boyfriends? No. Lovers?_

Bert’s face soured, his stomach going cold at such a label. _Partners._ Yeah, that was ambiguous enough for him to swallow. 

Maybe… maybe Ernie had already reached that conclusion. Maybe Ernie had seen this shift in their dynamic before Bert did. As much as the other puppet played into his naivety, he wasn’t dumb.

Oh… but now Bert definitely felt dumb. How could he be so blind? 

What he and Ernie had, it was so natural and easy. Why did it need to be complicated by any other sort of feelings? 

Bert sat heavily on his bed, his mind spinning with a million different thoughts and feelings. Bert didn’t even like Ernie like that, right?

I mean sure, sometimes he would ask a silly question just to make Bert laugh, which always made Bert’s stomach feel warm and funny. And sometimes Ernie’s eyes would gleam with such an adorable combination of curiosity and wonder and….

Oh. 

Oh no. 

\---

By the time Ernie had finally returned from the store, Bert had worked himself into a panic.

He was still pacing back and forth across their living room when he heard the door to their apartment unlock and the familiar tune that Ernie hummed under his breath.

Ernie busseled into the living room, smiling easily at Bert as he hauled in a few bags of groceries. “Oh.. hey Bert,” he called out jovially as he made his way to their kitchen, dumping the bags onto their countertop. “Want to help me put some of these groceries away? I got some of your favorite chocolate, I had to ask Big Bird to get it off the top shelf for me.” Ernie lightly chuckled to himself, completely unaware of Bert’s inner turmoil. 

Bert followed Ernie’s path and watched him as he began to unpack and put away the groceries he had bought. Something about the action was so mundane, so simple, but Bert’s heart swelled in an all too familiar way. 

Finally, Ernie noticed him loitering in the door framed and laughed. “What’s got you looking so thoughtful, Bert?” 

The taller puppet began to shake his head, as if to dismiss the question, before he stopped abruptly. 

“I’ve realized I’m in love with you,” he said matter-of-factly, the seriousness of his statement slightly dampened by the shakiness in his voice. 

Ernie froze mid-reach, his hand hovering just above the milk carton he was going to move to the fridge. Slowly, his smile grew. After a few agonizing seconds, he grabbed the milk and turned to face Bert again. 

“Oh, well, is that all?” Ernie inquired with a grin and flushed cheeks. 

Bert nodded assuredly, before moving from the door frame and grabbing the last few groceries from the bags. “Yes, that’s all.”

“Well, alright then Bert.” Ernie’s voice had a teasing element, but there was also a hint of fondness that hadn’t been there before. Or perhaps it was always there, but Bert hadn’t realized it until now. 

“Yes,” the taller puppet said, putting away the last of the groceries in their pantry. “So I don’t want to hear anymore questions concerning ‘what we are.’” Bert accented the phrase with air quotes, but his usual disapproving voice didn’t have much bite.

Ernie beamed, and he reached out to interlace his fingers with Bert. “Alrighty, that’s okay with me.” 

“Okay.”

And maybe after that, Ernie’s questions didn’t seem as aggravating as they did endearing. Maybe movie nights on the couch were filled with more warmth and cuddling. Maybe their two single beds were replaced with a large double bed they could both sleep in.

Maybe, that would be okay with Bert too.


End file.
